Daytrips From Paris

Furnishing Giverny for Its Former Residents “In the Woods at Giverny: Blanche Hoschedé at Her Easel with Suzanne Hoschedé Reading” (1887), by Claude Monet. As is by now well-known, the artist Claude Monet and his family moved into a house … Read More

A Destination, Not an Airport The Maladrerie Saint Lazare, where the lepers of Beauvais once lived. Photo: ParisUpdate.com Every time I mention to friends that I have visited Beauvais, they laugh. This can be explained by the fact that many … Read More

The water in the Parc de Billancourt acts like a branch of the Seine and forms islands. The global economy may still be reeling, but you’d never know it from a visit to the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, where a … Read More

“Portrait of Z. B. Marenzi” (1737) by Paolo Bonomino. Caen’s Musée des Beaux Arts must be my absolute all-time favorite provincial fine-art museum. Set in a contemporary building excavated out of the main courtyard …

A psychedelic vineyard by artists Anne and Patrick Poirier at the International Festival of Gardens in Chaumont sur Loire. The annual International Garden Festival at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire has become a regular pilgrimage for many Parisians, but visitors who … Read More

The city of Lille inaugurated a major cultural festival called “Europe XXL” on March 14 with a massive parade, the burning of giants papier-mâché falla sculptures (a heritage of the time when the city was part of the Spanish Netherlands), … Read More

Summer Parking The new Parc Clichy Batignolles is a huge success in park-starved Paris. The promenade plantée, an elevated park built on top of the Viaduc des Arts along the Avenue Daumesnil in Paris, is now a familiar part of … Read More

Culture in the Land of the Ch’tis The Lille post-office tower sports a Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis banner. Photo: J. Gascoigne After the runaway success of the film Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, set in the north of France very near … Read More

Eclectic Estate Big changes are afoot at the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, a Loire Valley château/estate best known for its annual garden festival. Formerly the property of the French national government, the entire estate was recently devolved to the Centre … Read More